Clint Dempsey Transfer Rumors: Liverpool Wrongly Confirm Signing, But Deal Still Likely

Speculation went wild on Wednesday that Liverpool had agreed a deal to sign U.S. international Clint Dempsey from Fulham. Bizarrely, the source of the story was Liverpool's owners themselves through an innocuous and, it would appear, erroneous, post on the Fenway Sports Group's website.

A story on the site states that Liverpool had added Clint Dempsey to a team that came within a game of winning the FA Cup.

While it appeared on the owners' site, the content was actually provided by New England Sports Network who are likewise owned by the Fenway Sports Group.

The post was quickly amended as Fulham rushed to deny that their midfielder had signed for the Reds.

We have received no offers from any club for Clint Dempsey, a club spokesman said, according to the Press Association. We would discourage any club from making a bid for him.

Dempsey has been increasingly linked with a move to Anfield in recent weeks. After missing out on Gylfi Sigurdsson, it is believed that new Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is keen to bring in the former New England Revolution star.

Following a stunning season in which he scored more Premier League goals than any other midfielder, the 29-year-old has stated his desire to move to a bigger club this summer. And with just 12 months remaining on his contract at Craven Cottage he had been widely expected to move on.

For their part, Fulham and their manager Martin Jol have stated their desire to hang on to Dempsey and are believed to be trying to tie him down to a new contract.

However, last week reports surfaced that the Cottagers were prepared to use Dempsey as part of a move for unsettled Liverpool striker Andy Carroll. A deal involving Fulham sending Dempsey plus £9 million to Anfield for the England international had been mooted.

While the writer of the NESN post has appeared to have jumped the gun and caused Liverpool some embarrassment in the process, his words may yet soon come to fruition.